Local coach deserves to be named USC’s full-time man

Willie W. Bonvillain
November 20, 2013
Patterson still alive after hard-fought victory
November 27, 2013
Willie W. Bonvillain
November 20, 2013
Patterson still alive after hard-fought victory
November 27, 2013

I’ve never really had much use for the University of Southern California.


As an LSU graduate who attended college during the major fight for supremacy between the schools, I’ve always considered them to be an archrival – the evil empire out West.

That whole mindset and ideology is sort of ironic considering that the Tigers and Trojans haven’t actually played against one another since the 1980s. Heck, they’ve only played twice in the history of college football within each school. But I guess that’s another column for another day. Lord knows there are plenty of quirky things that LSU folks do to get a rise out of other programs and fan bases.

But today, I want to shed my disdain for USC and actually offer those guys a bit of advice.


I think it has become apparent over the past month and a half that South Lafourche graduate and current USC interim coach Ed Orgeron is the right man for that school’s football program.

Because of the events that have transpired since Lane Kiffin’s dismissal, we’re here to officially recommend Coach O as the program’s permanent head coach.

Let’s just look at the numbers.


Prior to Orgeron being named USC’s interim head coach in late September, the Trojans were completely poisoned and hypnotized by the team’s former coach, veteran idiot Lane Kiffin – a man who has ruined every program he’s been a part of in his seven years as a head coach.

The 2013 Trojans were well on their way to that same fate when Kiffin’s dismissal was announced. USC was 3-2 overall, 0-2 in PAC-12 play and had just been shellacked 62-41 by Arizona State on national television – a loss so embarrassing that Kiffin was fired immediately following the game and was unable to even travel back to California with the team.

But with Orgeron, things have been better than they were before – in a big way.


Under the South Lafourche graduate, USC has won six of its past seven games – a roll that has allowed the team an opportunity to save its season. The Trojans will enter the Thanksgiving holiday with an outside shot at the PAC-12 Championship. With that feature in their caps, USC also has a small chance to play in the prestigious Rose Bowl – something that no one expected to be the case when the team was limping through its early-season schedule.

With Orgeron, the Trojans simply have life. The team looks like it cares again, something that was always in question when Kiffin was around. The USC players are competing with passion and raw emotion – again something that Kiffin’s teams never possessed. And as a result, that intensity has translated directly into improved play and victories.

The Trojans aren’t just beating creampuffs, either. USC defeated Stanford two Saturdays ago. The Cardinal entered that game as arguably the hottest team in America. But USC pulled it off and scored the upset.


After the game, national media immediately picked up on Orgeron’s successes – some have even lobbied for him to get the full-time job.

Mark me down as one in that party. I think Orgeron has done enough to show that he belongs. USC would be wise to remove the interim tag and allow Orgeron to take over.

Of course, the biggest thing limiting Orgeron’s chances is the fact that he has head coaching experience and his tenure wasn’t exactly what one would call a success.


Orgeron was the coach at Ole Miss for three seasons from 2005-07. During his time with the Rebels, Ole Miss posted just a 10-25 record. Most of those 10 victories came against pre-conference cupcakes. In SEC games, Orgeron’s Rebels were just 3-21.

That three-year stretch was not good – no one should claim otherwise. But despite a rough go in Oxford, some small victories were won by Orgeron’s staff during his time in the SEC.

The coach always recruited like a genius throughout his time with the school. Ole Miss chased some of the best players in the country during Orgeron’s stint with the team – some of those players eventually inked with the program.


Those players were 100 percent the reason why Orgerson’s successor Houston Nutt won with Ole Miss in the early years of his career in Oxford.

When those players left the program how did Nutt do?

I’ll go so far as to say that if the Rebels had given Coach O a few more seasons, he may have enjoyed a similar level of success.


Like we see now at USC, the Rebels always played hard under Orgeron. Because of that effort and intensity, Ole Miss pushed some of the best teams in the country to the limit, despite deficiencies in talent.

In 2005, the outclassed Rebels pushed Alabama to the limit and fell just 13-10.

The Tide nearly got rolled again in 2006 when Ole Miss took them to overtime, but fell 26-23. Just a month later, they lost 23-20 to LSU – another game that couldn’t be decided in regulation.


College football is a business – a big, big business. Because of that, wins and losses drive the bottom line.

Orgeron deserved to be fired at Ole Miss – I don’t dispute that. He didn’t win enough games to keep his job.

But a lot of time has passed since that debacle and it sure looks like the coach is a natural fit at USC.


I think the Trojans should give him a shot.

He’s given that team its first taste of success since Pete Carroll.

That should count for something, right?


Southern California head coach Ed Orgeron watches his players warm up before the start of an NCAA college football game against Utah in Los Angeles. Orgeron has injected fun back into USC, and victories have followed. 

GUS RUELAS | AP PHOTO